


In Loving Memory

by Love_you_a_latte



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Mindfuck, Mystery, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:53:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23960362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Love_you_a_latte/pseuds/Love_you_a_latte
Summary: It's been months since Tony Stark snapped, returning the world to "normal". But just as the remaining Avengers are getting adjusted to this new life, they start having dreams about a girl they've never met, but feel like they know. They see her face and hear her voice calling them in the dead of night, but they don't know how to find her. They don't even know who she is.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Reader, Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Reader, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Reader, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Sam Wilson (Marvel) & Reader, Sam Wilson (Marvel)/Reader, Thor (Marvel) & Reader, Thor (Marvel)/Reader, Wanda Maximoff & Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 41
Kudos: 152





	1. The Dreams

The world was all darkness and crimson smoke. Empty. Yet from the smoke grew whispers, and from those whispers came the words to a song, sung slowly and gently like a lullaby.

Ride ride ranke

Si meg hvor skal veien gå

Bestefar besøk skal få

Ride ride ranke

The song grew louder as the faces of two women emerged from the darkness.

Wanda Maximoff saw herself seated on the floor, pyjamas soaked with sweat, eyes closed and mouth parted, lost inside her mind. Or, rather, the mind of the other woman. Your mind.

You were perched on a bed behind her, every muscle in your body relaxed besides your fingers and arms, which moved slowly with the rthym of your song, pulling a brush through Wanda's hair. Your eyes were focused, alight with the last rays of sun that danced in the dying light from your window. You were remembering something, though she didn't know what. She watched her own face relax, and heard your voice reduced to humming.

Wanda woke slowly, opening her eyes one at a time, face scrunched in protest against the sun that nearly blinded her. It had been a long time since the sun had woken her; a long time since she had slept the night away and into the morning.

She heard an echoing in her ears as she stretched out on her bed, letting the covers slip off her form. She sat up, eyes still adjusting to the light, and gazed out the window. Outside stood the trees around the compound in full bloom, reaching towards the sun they had waited all winter to see. The grass was growing greener every day now, and soon enough flowers would push their way through to the open air.

There was still this sound, like a low humming, that distracted Wanda from the view and soothed her at the same time. It was a familiar sound, but she couldn't place it. It still persisted as she prepared for the day by taking a warm shower, letting the water wash away her morning drowsiness. She still couldn't place it as she stood in the mirror, staring at her reflection. She felt a pressure on her mind, like someone was knocking on a door in her conscious, but when she tried to probe it, the door was sealed shut.

She dressed slowly, and continued probing, but nothing came. She slipped on some leggings, a red t-shirt, and her favorite cardigan, pulling it close. Still, nothing happened.

With a sigh, she opened one of the drawers beneath the bathroom sink, and reached for her hairbrush. It wasn't until she grasped it firmly in her hand that the humming in her ears turned to a song, and the knocking turned to a busted down door, flooding her mind with a memory she didn't recognize.

Wanda knocked on your door tentatively, barely audibly, but she knew you'd hear it. You did, in fact, and opened the door within moments. You were standing there in your nightgown, tired eyes looking on in quiet compassion. You appeared almost ethereal in the moonlight coming from your window, every curve of your body surrounded by a halo of light. Wanda looked almost opposite you, with sweat-drenched plaid pyjama pants and a tight nightshirt. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know that her eyes were bordered by red, her face swollen, and her cheeks stained by frustrated tears.

She didn't say anything; she didn't have to. You simply nodded, and let her in. Your room was simple, with a dresser, bed, nightstand, bookcase, and an armchair. The lack of furniture left room for all of the potted plants you kept. Some were massive, reaching the ceiling and resting in pots bigger than any she had ever seen. Others were small, just big enough to rest along the edges of the dresser or on the window sill. The rest were every size imbetween, and you loved them all. So did Wanda.

She ran her hands across them as she walked through your room, breathing in the feeling of peace that always enveloped her when she was here. You sat down on your bed, and leaned over to drag open your nightstand drawer, pulling out a wooden hairbrush with clear bristles. Wordlessly, Wanda lowered herself onto the floor at your feet, and relaxed as your soft hands pulled her hair behind her shoulders. As you began brushing, your voice carried itself to her ears, singing a nursery rhyme.

Ride, ride ranke

Og når vi så stiger av

sier vi "goddag, goddag"

Ride, ride ranke

Ride, ride ranke

Bestemor, hun er så snill

Vi får leke som vi vil

Ride, ride, ranke

Wanda reached out with her mind as you sang, and gently looked into yours. You were focusing on one memory: a happy one, just for her.

In it, you were twelve, running through the summer rain as it poured from above. You ran down the sidewalk of a busy city street, hopping into each puddle you saw. You reached an alley lined with cobblestone where a river of rainwater flowed towards the street, and jumped in. You squeeled with laughter when your sandal came flying off, and was carried away down the stream.

To Wanda, it was like she was there, letting all her worries float away down the river of rainwater, just like your sandal. She didn't know how much time had passed, only that you had stopped singing now, and the demons that haunted her nights were gone.

_______

Clint watched your face from a TV screen, taking in all the hard lines that had made themselves at home where the skin had once been so smooth. He could hardly tell what you were wearing, or if you were even alive; you were so bloody and mangled, and the video quality didn't exactly help, either. He watched you hit the ground after a masked man behind you hit you with the butt of his rifle. The whitewashed room was stained with bloody handprints that sent shivers down his spine when he realized they were just your size.

For a moment, the world grew fuzzy, and he could feel Laura trying to wake him up. But he pulled himself back in, fighting to see your face. He couldn't recognize you, yet he felt like he knew you, underneath the blood and grime. He continued watching as your captors spoke to the screen, their cold and unfeeling eyes trained in the camera. You had ceased to move in front of them.

Clint screamed.

Laura Barton would later say that one of the most terrifying moments of her life was waking Clint from that nightmare.

_________

When Bucky slammed the door to the refrigerator out of annoyance over some useless argument, Sam blacked out. 

When his vision drifted back into focus, he wasn't in the kitchen. Instead, he was in his own room sitting on his bed, eyes screwed shut, struggling to breath. His heart clenched in his chest, and it felt like he was dying.

Just when the sensations got too much, he heard you singing. His head shot up and he saw you standing there in his doorway, arms loaded with goodies. You continued singing, dropped the contents of your load onto the end of the bed. He watched you as you grabbed candle after candle from the pile, placing them in various spots around the room. One on the dresser, then one on the window, then one on the floor. You then picked up a lighter, and went back around to light each one. From the pile you grabbed a teddy bear, which you tossed lightly into his lap. All that remained on the end of the bed were licorice and saltines; his favorite snacks. You left then, your voice fading away down the hall, never having said a thing.

Sam's panic attack had subsided now.

When he came to, he had this urgent feeling to find you, the girl in his dream, though he didn't know who you were.

Bucky knew that look in his friend's eyes, because he had just woken that morning with the same desire after dreaming about a mystery woman singing words of healing over his night terrors.

_________

You yelled when Rhodey tickled you, laughing like a maniac. Your eyes twinkled like stars, and your hair was splayed out on the couch cushions where he held you hostage, punishing you with tickles for stealing the last powdered donut. You just kept cackling with no remorse, valiantly trying to kick him off, but Rhodey would not be discouraged.

He woke laughing to an empty room.

_________

Bruce Banner shook his head slowly as he left his dreams behind, taking in the lab around him. Once again, he had fallen asleep over his work. The metal desk he had been decoding data on now had a significant dent in it from his weight, something that reminded him of who, or what, he now was.

According to his watch, whose face was the size of any normal human's, it was past nine. With a confused huff, he hauled himself from his seat and rubbed his eyes, trying to regain full consciousness. It had been a long time since he'd slept that long, though he couldn't pinpoint why he had. What was different about last night compared to any other night? Nothing, as far as he could tell.

With a yawn, he rolled his shoulders, and decided that he'd better freshen up for the day. He crossed the room, and opened its glass door, when he suddenly remembered something about last night. It was a dream. A very life-like dream, almost as if it were deja vu. And yet, he couldn't recall it ever actually happening, especially since he didn't even recognize one of the faces in it.

Tony's visage was contorted, almost like he was in pain, and his eyes kept darting around the room, anywhere but Bruce's face. For the life of him, the doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Is there something going on, Tony?" He asked, interrupting his own speech on the importance of lab safety.

In response, Stark burst out laughing, eyes locked with something over Bruce's shoulder. The scientist turned to look, and was met with your face pressed against the door to the lab, cheeks blown up, eyes popping, tongue sticking out. Your hands were pressed against the glass, too, shaking back and forth like you were doing slow jazz hands. Bruce wouldn't have cracked if you hadn't fallen backwards, howling at your own joke. He smiled, then chuckled, then found himself laughing hard, tears running down his face just like you and Tony. You tried to stop laughing multiple times, but lost it again the moment you saw the other two doubled over. And when they saw you, fresh peals of laughter broke forth, and soon you were all on the floor, gasping for air.

The scene changed, and this time, his world was black. All he could hear was your voice, too faint to make out. He rushed toward it, trying to find you, but he wasn't going anywhere. Your voice never grew louder or quieter, just stayed even and unrelenting, calling him to you.

________

Thor strolled through the palace gardens, enjoying the way the Asgard sun beamed down on him, and the fragrance of the flowers on every side. Their pastel colors were so bright in the sunlight, and the slight breeze wafted them this way and that.

He continued walking through the gardens, passing between hedges and crossing brooks until he reached the massive golden fountain in its center. The column that rose skyward blasted a steady stream of water downward, creating a clear veil through which he could see the column's carved details; classical tales like Tyr's hand, and the birth of his hammer.

"It is a beautiful day, isn't it?" A familiar voice said, and Thor turned to see his mother standing there, gazing at the fountain. Freyja looked beautiful in her golden gown and crown, the definition of regal.

"It really is," he agreed, returning his attention to the waters.

"You know, my dear, I could stop the water from flowing from its source, and I could use a bucket to empty the fountain's base, and you wouldn't know that water once flowed through it. But still, you would feel that something was missing, and you would try to find that missing piece."

When Thor turned to look back at his mother, he was suddenly met with your face. The world had shifted, and he was now on a rooftop, watching the sun set.

"The missing piece..." He murmered, trying to make sense of what Freyja had said.

"Yes. You always know it's missing, but you don't always know what it looks like, or where to find it. That's the problem with a jigsaw," you said, your voice slowly dissolving into whispers that were swept away by the wind.

He was going to ask more when a harsh banging sound echoed in his head like a gong.

Thor woke to Brunnhilde standing in his doorway, slamming her fist against his open door in an attempt to wake him.

"Your majesty, you've got a message. It's from the Avengers; they're holding an emergency meeting."

________

Life was quiet in your cabin, far away from the world and prying eyes. It's bare wood walls had become a comfort in the lonely months since Thanos' death, and you had grown used to following the grains of wood with your eyes while you thought. It cleared your mind, and helped you forget.

The cabin itself was only one story, with all the typical household furnishing crammed into one room. It wasn't ideal, but it was safe and comfortable. You kept things generic, restraining yourself from adding your own touches in decor. It was best if you left no mark of yourself in case you had to leave.

Suddenly, the winds shifted outside.

Your toes curled in on the wool rug beneath your feet, and your right hand gripped the edge of your leather couch. Your left, which was only a stump shorter than your elbow, remained still at your side as you focused.

Breezes blew in from the fields outside, brushing against your ear, whispering stories under their breath meant only for you.

According to them, you had failed your mission, and it was only a matter of time before the Avengers learned the truth.

You hated to think of what was about to happen.


	2. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers meet to try and make sense of what they experienced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful readers! I'm so glad you're here!  
> This chapter is shorter than the last, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Peter Parker felt awkward standing in the Avengers compound. He had found himself there in the past, of course, but always with Tony Stark. Now, he was a fully fledged Avenger, though he didn't exactly feel at home in the massive building. He preferred his apartment.

Unfortunately for him, he might be hanging out around there for a while, considering an emergency meeting had been called. He wasn't sure what the meeting was about, or who all had been called, or if it was a real emergency and not just a false alarm or a drill. Not that there had been a false alarm or a drill in the past, but he wouldn't put it past someone like Scott or Clint to accidentally press a button that summoned the Avengers. Either way, he was here now, wandering the halls of the compound.

The security guard at the check-in point had given him directions, but Peter was lost. He blamed it on his lack of sleep. For the past few nights, he'd been having dreams. Or, at least, he assumed that's what they were. He couldn't remember them, or even if he had them at all, but the vague sensation that his mind had been active during the night stayed with him, along with a mysterious hum in his ears. It was very faint, almost not there, but in moments where the world was as silent as a neighborhood in Queens could be, he'd hear it. At first, he thought it was just his ears ringing quietly. Then, he thought maybe the latest explosion or gunshot had messed with his eardrums. But he never had time to really investigate in the last three days, between school and being a superhero. So he barely noticed it when the quiet hum got louder the closer he got to the compound, then began to take the form of a tune the farther he walked down these halls.

Peter came to an abrupt stop when he happened to glance to his right while passing a room. It was empty, with nothing but a few boxes in it, walls whitewashed and glaringly bright, lit up by the morning sun that streamed in through the window. The window itself was massive, filling the entire wall on the far side, looking out over the line of trees that bordered the compound. In the middle of the room, gazing out the window lost in thought, stood Wanda Maximoff. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a gray cardigan, pulling the wool tight across her chest. 

"Wanda? I mean, sorry, Ms--Ms. Witch? Scarlett?" Peter stumbled through his introduction. Wanda turned around, an absent smile on her face.

"Hello Peter," she said, and her voice was barely a whisper, yet a yell at the same time.

"Uh, hi. I'm really sorry to interrupt, I just, I'm here for a meeting, and the lady at the front desk, she said to take the fifth hallway on the right until I got to the conference room, but I haven't been sleeping, so I think I missed a turn--"

"You didn't. You're right where you should be," she cut him off mysteriously. Peter opened his mouth to ask a question when Rhodey entered the room.

"Hey, Wanda. Peter. Aren't we supposed to be in a meeting?"

"Yes. Who do you think called it?" Wanda said, and motioned towards the boxes nearest the entrance. Peter and Rhodey took the hint, and lowered themselves slowly onto the full boxes to make sure the flaps didn't collapse under their weight.

"I will answer all your questions once the meeting begins," she said, responding to the thoughts they held in their heads.

The rest of the Avengers filtered in slowly, and she told them much the same thing. They joined the two on the boxes, avoiding the one in the center that Wanda had evidently claimed. She didn't sit down, however.

"So, what's the emergency?" Rhodey asked once Clint entered last.

Wanda's eyes flickered from one teammate to the next, as if she were analyzing them. Seemingly satisfied, she lowered herself onto the floor, crossing her legs. The sunlight lit her hair like a bright orange halo, framing her sad, round face.

"I know I'm not the only one," she began, "who's been having strange dreams." 

Peter swore he could cut the tension in the room with a knife. He couldn't remember those sleepless nights, but maybe he had dreamt something?

"Strange dreams," she continued, "of events we don't remember, with a face we can't recall, but with the knowledge that it's a part of us. Dreams that feel like watching memories on a movie screen, disconnected yet there at the same time."

Everyone nodded vigorously.

"It was so vivid," Clint nodded solemnly, and the entire room erupted in hushed voices. It was like they were afraid to say it out loud, like they weren't sure if it had been real at all.

Wanda let them speak, reaching her arm over the lip of the box next to her, and pulled out a dagger. She let it hover in the air, inches above her fingertips, and the room quieted once again to observe it.

The knife was simple at first glance, a clip blade, ending in an asymmetrical tip. It was a rusty black, textured and worn. Upon closer inspection, when the rays of light hit its sides, the group could see patterns carved in to the hilt and edge of the blade. They were curving, winding, weaving lines, cutting across the cold metal in shallow patterns that were barely visible. The dagger itself seemed insignificant, but it was obvious it had been used many times.

"What is it?" Bruce whispered, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Or, whose is it?" Thor countered, leaning forward on his cardboard box.

"I don't know," Wanda said. "But neither does FRIDAY."

"What do you mean?" Rhodey asked. "FRIDAY monitors everything in the compound. She sees everyone coming in and out. There's no way she can't track what this is, or at least where it came from."

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but it seems that there's been a malfunction in my systems," FRIDAY said over the speakers, and Bucky jumped. He still wasn't used to the AI. Sam would've laughed, but Rhodey sent him a warning look.

"According to FRIDAY," she continued, ignoring Sam, "there is no record of anything entering or leaving this room. It was marked empty in her files, and all her cameras suggest that no one was here, let alone leaving boxes."

"What's in the rest of them?" Bruce asked, shifting uncomfortably on his, thankful that it hadn't buckled under the weight of the Hulk. Yet.

"Basics. Toothpaste, shampoo, towels, sheets, mirrors, a few clothes, and some picture frames without photographs. So, who was here?" She asked, but it sounded like she was asking of herself, again lost in the dark web of her mind.

"How did you figure this out in the first place? And why is it an emergency?" Rhodes asked, ever professional.

Wanda stood, her hand rubbing her top lip in thought. Her eyes wandered slowly over the Avengers again with a vacant look to them, as if she were far, far away. She turned, and stared out the window.

"I kept hearing this... humming in my mind. And it felt as if it were pulling me somewhere, though I didn't know where. I went walking through the compound to try and clear my head, but, I ended up finding this room instead." She turned back around again and this time, her eyes were focused.

"The moment I entered, the humming stopped. My mind went quiet. And at the same time, it was busy. Like standing in a fog. There are no noises or sights or smells, but you can feel the mist brushing against your fingers. It felt like there were a thousand memories floating through the air at once, but I couldn't reach them."

"What was your dream?" Thor prompted, but as Wanda parted her red lips to reply, there was another voice in the room. It was quiet, pervading every corner, taking a hold of every mind. It sang.

Ride ride ranke

Si meg hvor skal veien gå

Bestefar besøk skal få

Ride ride ranke

Ride, ride ranke

Og når vi så stiger av

sier vi "goddag, goddag"

Ride, ride ranke

Ride, ride ranke

Bestemor, hun er så snill

Vi får leke som vi vil

Ride, ride, ranke

The voice stopped, then, and the room was shrouded in silence once more.

"That." Wanda murmered, shock written on her face. "That was my dream."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading thus far! I know that not a lot is happening, but I hope to get to a little more meat in the next couple of chapters.  
> In case anyone is wondering, the song is "Ride Ride Ranke," a Norwegian children's nursery rhyme. It's the song my great-grandfather used to sing to me when I was little (his family was from Norway).   
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave comments/kudos and let me know how I'm doing! I hope to update soon, since I just finished two other series I was working on.  
> Ta ta for now!


	3. The Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers do a little more searching, but so do you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to apologise ahead of time because this chapter is short and choppy and probably very confusing but it was a rough day today, and I'm just trying to figure things out.  
> I love you guys tons, enjoy!

You paced from one end of the room to the next, mind a deep, dark tangle of thoughts rushing about. The cedar smell of the cabin and the feel of the wool rug under your bare feet became more insignificant the further you reached out with your mind. The world was fading into nothing the harder you pushed, searching. You knew it was risky, knew it might ruin everything, but also knew that if you weren't aware of what was happening in the outside world, the Avengers might find you.

It took all the energy you could muster to connect with Wanda's aura, following its path to her mind, which was just as tangled as yours. if you focused, faces appeared in front of you, and you could see into Wanda's world.

_____

"We confirmed it, then?" Sam.

"Yeah, it's not- the knife- it's not any type of metal that we know, I mean, it's like a completely new element! It's going to take me awhile to break it down, uh, Mr. Stark didn't exactly leave an instruction manual to his lab..." A nervous chuckle. Peter.

"I'm not sure we have time." Clint.

"He's right." Bucky. "If whoever left this dagger is the same person who managed to completely disappear from FRIDAY's database, they already know that we're looking for them." Bucky.

"But how do we know for sure that the dreams-- Wanda? Wanda, are you alright?"

_____

The world was full of blinding light and you pulled back fiercely. It slowly faded into red, and then the interior of your cabin came into focus again. You were lying on the rug, breathes coming in short gasps. You pulled at the strands of wool, trying and failing to keep a grip on reality. You slipped back out of consciousness.

From the blackness emerged a memory, fresh in your eyes but stale in your mind. It was of you, arm raised, every fibre of your body straining against the power that coursed through your veins. The power of the Infinity Stones. You could feel the dried tears on your face, the dust clinging to your lungs, the sweat and ache that coated you. You could see the scorched battlefield stretching out before you, and the tens of thousands of lives waiting. You could see the giant man in front of you, defeat written in his face like wrinkles. You could smell something burning. The world, the world was burning. You could hear your ears ringing, and in your soul were the screams of billions that had died for this milennia-long war.

Before you snapped, you stated your two requests to the stones. The first, you spoke out loud, your voice breaking like a wave, carrying the cries of your teammates.

"Let the armies of Thanos fall."

Your second request was said silently, a plea that you knew would take everything you loved away from you.

When you snapped, the world turned every brilliant color imagineable, and you ceased to feel anything in your left arm. It was finished.

______

Wanda'a eyes opened slowly and painfully, adjusting to the sunlight streaming in from the lounge window. She could hear voices in the distance, growing nearer. Moving slowly, she shifted each limb to check for broken bones. A force of habit.

"She's awake," Thor announced, and the team that had been previously scattered around the room converged around the couch where Wanda lay, watching her like hawks.

She sat up, carefully lifting the afghan that had been draped across her chest.

"How are you feeling?" Clint asked, his hand on her arm and his eyes filled with worry.

"I'm alright. I saw.. I saw..." She trailed off, trying to recall what had happened. One moment, she had been in a meeting with her friends and now, she was sitting on a couch in the lounge. While unconcious, she had viewed another memory. But this time, it wasn't of her.

"What did you see?" Bruce prompted softly.

"I saw the battle with Thanos." The Avengers automatically stiffened. "But it wasn't the same. We were all there, and someone had the gauntlet, but it wasn't Tony."

They leaned in curiously, and Wanda let out a shuddering sigh.

"It was the girl in my dreams," she finished, and looked up from the blanket across her lap to see her friends, her family, their faces contorted in various stages of grief and confusion.

"What do you mean?" Rhodey prompted, his arms crossed and defensive. "Where was Tony?"

"He wasn't there at all. There was an iron gauntlet, and her."

Clint gripped Wanda's arm tightly, and turned his head towards Thor, who was standing in the doorway watching with interest.

"We need to do what you suggested. Take the dagger to Strange. If anyone knows what's going on here, he will."

"That's not all," Wanda whispered. But the team heard her.

"I felt her. In my head. I think that's why I blacked out -- because I was entering hers. I wouldn't recognize her mind except I have been there before, during my dream. In it, while she sung to me, she was focusing on a happy memory so I could see it when I entered her mind. I recognized her aura around me while I watched the battle with Thanos. I saw her snap. And then, it all went black."

"It sounds like it's time to ask our wizard friend a few questions," Rhodey said, standing, ready to go.

_______

You swore, driving the stump of your left arm into the carpet. You were still lying on the floor, too weak to move. You should have never reached out to Wanda. The chances were, she had realized that there was someone else in her head and, worst case scenario, she had recognized you. But, based on your flashback to the battle with Thanos, she had just been forced to relive a memory. If you were lucky, she hadn't heard your silent plea to the stones, and was more concerned about why you had taken Tony's place in her mind. If you were lucky, the team would be looking for interdimensional connections, believing that their dreams were nothing but the events played out in another universe, another time. If you were lucky, they'd drop it, and leave.

But you never were particularly lucky.

_______

"I have no idea." Strange was obviously tired, the lines around his eyes and mouth harder than usual. His hair had grown grayer, and his body was slumped in the massive antique chair.

The Avengers stood in the library of the New York Sanctum, marveling at the sheer number of books and artifacts that lined its walls. Strange, sitting on the one seat in the room, was inspecting the dagger that had just been handed to him by Clint.

"Come on, man, you gotta have something," Sam complained loudly, arms crossed and stance wide.

"Listen, the only possible explanation that fits is that all the time travel you did caused a rip in the dimensions, and the dreams and possessions you discovered in the compound are just manifestations of that."

"You care to elaborate?" Rhodey asked, joining Sam at his side. Strange rolled his eyes.

"Look, neither you nor FRIDAY have any recollection of how those things could have gotten there, or who that girl is, right? Yet the items and the memories are there. If we ripped a hole in our dimension, it is very possible that the boxes slipped though that hole, from a parallel universe, and appeared in ours."

"Then what about our memories?" Wanda asked, a vacant look in her eyes.

"They must have come from different versions of you in this other dimension. While the hole was open, you were recieving transmitions from their minds."

"No." Wanda said firmly, stepping forward.

"If that's true, why can I still feel that girl in my mind?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand."

"If I reach out, I can still feel her presence. As clearly as I can feel yours. And she's not from another dimension. When we fought Thanos," she swallowed thickly, shoving aside the wave of emotions that hit her hard, "he felt... Different. There was something about him that didn't belong. But the more I interact with this girl's aura, the more I'm convinced she's a part of our world. Maybe I don't ever remember meeting her. But I feel as though she's a part of me, like-"

"A missing piece to a jigsaw." Thor cut in.

"Yes," Wanda nodded, turning to her teammate, who had a far-away look to his eyes. "You feel it too?"

"In my dream," he clarified, working his hands in a a nervous habit that the Avengers had recently noticed, "she said that. The girl. She mentioned a jigsaw, how it's obvious that the piece is missing."

Strange stood up finally, and looked Thor squarely in the face.

"What else did she say?"

So Thor told them about his mother, and the fountain, and you, and the jigsaw. How you can always tell if something's missing from a picture, even if you don't know what that thing is.

"Look," Dr. Strange said after a moment, scratching his forehead furiously. "I don't know what's going on. I'll talk to a few friends and do some reading and see what I can come up with but, quite frankly, I don't think you'll be able to track this girl down. She obviously doesn't want to be found, whoever she is."

"Or maybe she does," Wanda muttered, though the team never heard her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!  
> Jeg elsker deg! ♥️


	4. The Serpent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little more about why you're hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Super short chapter for reasons discussed at the end.  
> Enjoy!

"Thor."

The god of thunder sat bolt upright in bed, Stormbreaker already in hand. But there was no one else in the little guest room. He looked around, studying everything in the darkness . The white walls, the dresser, the nightstand, the bathroom and closet doors, the curtained windows, the maroon comforter. But nothing was different.

"Thor," the voice spoke again, barely a whisper. It was soft and lilting, as if it were singing a song.

"Who's there?" His voice boomed, eyes already turning bright and electricity dancing at his fingertips. The voice laughed lightly, but there was pain beneath it. It changed, growing deep and raspy.

"Find her!" It screeched, and Thor lept from his bed. 

"Show yourself!" He yelled, but nothing emerged from the shadows. All was silent. Until the voice came back, returned to its original state, singing the lullaby that had echoed through the halls during the team meeting.

Ride ride ranke

Si meg hvor skal veien gå

Bestefar besøk skal få

Ride ride ranke

Ride, ride ranke

Og når vi så stiger av

sier vi "goddag, goddag"

Ride, ride ranke

Ride, ride ranke

Bestemor, hun er så snill

Vi får leke som vi vil

Ride, ride, ranke

Thor listened, alert, disturbed by the fact that he knew the song. It was the kind that the wise woman Hyndla would sing over he and his brother when they were up at night. But gone was the love that Hyndla's voice harbored, replaced by a sinister tone that threatened him.

Thor left his bed, and began wandering the halls, hoping the voice would lead him somewhere like it had with Wanda. The air felt cold against his bare chest, and he could hear his flannel pants brushing the floor. With each turn, the voice grew louder, until he was standing in front of the room where the team meeting had been held. Everything was exactly the same, except for the wall to his left. Painted in blood, dripping to the floor, was a snake, coiled and ready to attack.

Stormbreaker hit the floor with a clang.

A chilling laugh echoed through the compound.

"You can't stop Raganrok," the voice sang, sickly sweet.

When the remaining Avengers assembled, their eyes glued to the crimson symbol on the wall, they stood in silence.

"The world serpent," Thor began, his voice shattered and broken, "is the next step for Ragnarok."

"What the hell is Ragnarok?" Clint grumbled, lacking the caffeine he needed to function.

"Ragnarok is your doomsday. Armaggedon. Whatever you people call it. It is the end of all of these realms. Yggdrasil will break and it was all fall apart. I will die battling the world serpent, and Fenris wolf will return to devour the Earth. Everything in Midgard and beyond will vanish as if it had never existed, and all that will be left is an empty universe, and two people."

"Which people?" Wanda asked, her eyes filled with fear. 

"No one knows. The world serpent -- this world serpent -- told me to find her. The girl in our dreams."

"Did he say anything else?" Rhodey looked exasperated and disgusted more than anything, echoing the team's desire for the world to be safe for once.

"He said that we cannot stop Ragnarok."

There was a heavy pause that followed, ladden with thought. The moonlight flickered in through the windows from between the trees, casting an erie glow on the team.

"So, I'm confused here," Bruce began, turning to his friend. "Does this mean we should find the girl, or we shouldn't?"

"I don't know." Thor admitted.

"Well, if history tells us anything," Sam began, "you should never trust a snake."

"But what if we have to find her? To stop Ragnarok?"

Thor shook his head, trying to stop the thoughts that clouded his mind from taking over. The prophesies of Ragnarok had been engrained in him since childhood. He didn't want to relive them.

"Either way, I'm going to bed." Clint declared, dragging his feet in the general direction of the door. "Strange'll contact us if he learns anything and until then, there's not a whole lot we can do."

The Avengers nodded solemnly, though they all knew sleep wouldn't come easy tonight.

________

The tears streamed down your face silently, leaving their paths in shimmering saline that no one else would ever see. 

You watched Pepper place the flowers for Tony in the river, watched the team gather in grief, watched them lay their friend to rest. You could tell they were hurting, and you desperately wanted to leap forward and promise them that everything would be alright, that, though their world was ending, its epilogue would be beautiful. But you were restrained by your own mind, and the knowledge that if you revealed yourself, their epilogue would turn sour. So you stayed back, watching and letting the tears stream down your face, hoping that they would at last move on.

Tony, according to their memories, had died snapping his fingers, and you wanted to keep it that way. Sometimes, you decided, the truth was best kept secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE:  
> Hello my beautiful readers! I'm having a hard time getting this thing off the ground, so I'd love to hear what you have to say!  
> So, whether you follow me or this particular story, I'd love to create an email list and Instagram group chat to give updates, hold discussions, and bounce ideas off you guys. If you're interested in any of that, either email me at serendipityscribbles@gmail.com or dm me @serendipity_scribbles and let me know if you want to be on the email list, or join the group chat!  
> I'd also love to hear any comments you have!! I'm working on some planning for this, so you might get radio silence from me for awhile.  
> Anyway, stay tuned for more coming soon!  
> Jeg elsker deg ♥️


	5. The Ancient One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dagger is stolen, and the wizards find a clue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry for the delay in posting, but I was sick and had exams. I've recovered now, though, so I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter!
> 
> NOTE: this particular chapter has many references to the Dr. Strange movie as well as Norse mythology. If you haven't watched the movie, it may not make sense. If you don't know Norse mythology, I will explain the names and places later in the story.

You stood face to face with green eyes, watching your every move. The muzzle of Sköll, one of the great wolves of Ragnarok, was larger than your entire form. He towered over you, his hackles reaching the sky and tail creating gusts of wind that would eventually travel to the mainland and cause chaos. His matted gray fur hid birds' nests and insects that found safety against the harsh Skandanavian weather, and his paws were wet with his own blood and drool.

"You left the dagger behind, didn't you?" He taunted through the muzzle you had place on him. It was golden, glittering, one of the few creations of Dimitriv the dwarf. It was thin, barely wider than your thumb, but it was strong. The spells you had cast on it pulsed through each thread, making it glow.

"I believe you already know the answer," you replied, turning your hand in a circle. This caused the muzzle to tighten, and the ropes that held it to the ground grew shorter. Sköll sunk to his knees with a growl, and you laughed darkly.

"If I have to, Fenrisson, I will steal, kill, and destroy to keep you here. Do not doubt me."

"And yet you are mortal. Who will save the world once you are gone?" His eyes were alight with the hunt. He could wait for eternity if he had to, something you didn't possess.

"There will always be someone," you responded bluntly, and turned to leave.

Before you, stretched out on rocky shores, was a little island you had nicknamed Sköll Island, for its single inhabitant. It was cold and barren, and if a traveler by chance made it up the precarious cliffs to the rise where the son of Fenris wolf was chained, he would find nothing. Your spells were effective.

"You cannot stop Ragnarok, witch!" He howled, and you tightened the ropes again with the flick of your wrist.

"No, I can't," you shouted over your shoulder, still headed towards the north shore, where your little fishing boat waited. "But I can postpone it."

You left the catalyst in the wake of your boat, ignoring the growls that followed you.

__________

Sam Wilson paced back and forth in his room, your dagger in hand. The team was looking to him for the answers now, and as the new Captain America, it wasn't just the Avengers that rested on his shoulders. It was the world. This dagger represented his first challenge as Captain, and he knew he had to make a strong impression. But it had been weeks since the dreams started, and they showed no signs of stopping or providing any clues to your identity. Dr. Strange had discovered that the dagger was Asgardian, much to Thor's surprise, but no one had been able to identify it. The team was at a standstill, and were feeling the loss of their greatest members. When in doubt, they turned to Steve or Tony. But Steve and Tony were gone, and so was Nat. They had been disarmed, the rug swept out from under their feet. Without answers, the lullaby that seemed to never leave their minds kept them up at night if their dreams didn't. Sam's most recent was of you trying to reach powdered donuts on the top shelf of the pantry, standing on wobbly legs firmly planted on lower shelves that bent under your weight. You fell to the floor with a crash, taking boxes and bags of food with you.

Sometimes, they'd have dreams that were repeats of ones another Avenger had experienced. They had all seen the image of you bloody and broken on a TV screen by now. It seemed like, with each dream, they learned something new about you, and yet nothing at all. They didn't know your name, or who you were, or why they were dreaming of you. All the Avengers could gather was that they knew you, from some point in time, from some world.

"Captain Wilson," FRIDAY spoke, and Sam listened. "Ms. Maximoff would like to see you in the conference room, please."

"Thank you for letting me know, FRIDAY. Tell her I'll be right there."

"Of course sir."

Sam dropped the dagger on his bed, and left his room in a hurry. He'd been on edge, ready to jump into action ever since the first team meeting. They had since named the room where they found the dagger and the bloody mural of the snake the "Conference Room". It was removed from the rest of the compound enough that agents rarely walked past, and the cameras were off government record, so it made the ideal meeting room, especially since, the moment they entered, the humming in their minds quieted, and the pull they felt to find you fell silent.

"You asked to see me?" Sam said, leaning on the doorframe. Wanda sat inside in the middle of the floor, eyes trained on the massive snake that Thor had insisted they leave on the wall. She turned, eyebrows scrunched, confusion written on her round face.

"No, I didn't."

Realization dawned on both of them in an instant.

"The dagger," Sam muttered, and took off running back to his quarters. They weren't far, but he wasn't fast enough. The dagger had disappeared from his bed and left an empty impression on his covers.

Wanda walked up behind her friend, noticing the outline of where the knife had once lain.

"She took the dagger," she said, not surprised. "I guess she really doesn't want to be found."

Sam nodded slowly. "It must have been important, then."

"Apparently so."

_________

Dr Stephen Strange grumbled quietly, flipping through one of the many books in the Kamar-Taj library. Wong had informed him that another old student recently joined Mordo's forces, and Strange had decided that learning about each of the wizard's followers was as much of a strategy as he could develop. Mordo wasn't a major threat, but he was causing chaos in the magical world, robbing users of their power and then disappearing for weeks on end. With Thanos gone, the next threat had been presented, and the sanctums had to prepare to fight. Strange took a bite of an apple he held in his hand, eyes scanning the records for the name Wong provided. He could hear Beyoncé playing in the background, but ignored it.

He stopped his flipping for a moment, intent on one page. Amidst the carefully-calligraphed ancient sheets, there was a blank space. It showed no signs of having ever been tampered with, no signs of ever having held information, yet it was between two other names in the record from around six years ago. These pages held the names of everyone who passed through Kamar-Taj and its sanctums, and they were written painstakingly by hand by students who needed correction. They were read over and checked by multiple wizards afterward, including whoever was the librarian at the time. So why was one listing gone?

If he had the time stone, Strange might've found out. But they were high and dry. There weren't even indentations in the paper from where ink might have been.

"Wong?" Strange yelled, voice bouncing off the bookshelves. His friend appeared at his side in moments, tearing the book from his grasp.

"What have you done?" He muttered, running his fingers over the blank space.

"I haven't done anything," Strange replied, and the wizards studied the book together in silence.

From that silence came a hum, low and soft, and at first, it was unnoticeable. Until it grew in volume, consuming the mind of every wizard on sight.

"Who goes there?" Dr. Strange yelled, standing in position to fight. The voice sang its same melody, the lullaby that had been echoing in the Avengers' ears for weeks. Once it came to a slow stop, and the humming faded, Kamar-Taj was eerily silent.

"I believe," Wong began, "it is time to contact the Ancient One."

"Agreed."

________

You sat out on the deck of your cabin in the woods, sipping camomile tea. The birds were chirping, the air was clear, and the wind shook the pines. If you focused enough on those things, you could forget what caused the winds.

"They're going to call on me soon," the Ancient One said, and you turned to observe her in the deck chair opposite you. She also had tea, and held it with the edges of her golden robe to keep the heat off her hands. You nodded, noticing the way her eyes clouded with doubt. "What should I tell them?" She asked, much to your surprise. You had no place asking her to say anything, and certainly no place trying to manipulate things. She would say what she would say, and you would have to deal with the consequences. You knew the Ancient One bowed to none, so maybe this was a test.

"Tell them the truth," you replied slowly, blowing across the top of your mug. She smiled, a faint, fleeting smile, and took one last look across the wilderness before vanishing.

"That was my mug," you muttered in mock frustration. You knew she'd bring it back the next time she visited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading loves! If you enjoyed it, please leave kudos and a comment and let me know. Stay tuned for chapter 6, which should be here in a week!  
> Jeg elsker deg ♥️


	6. The Throne Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At last, you reveal yourself. But not under favorable circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I know it's been awhile, but I've been working on other things.  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Strange's hands moved in a flurry and from their fingertips came strings of light, falling into place around the spell he was forming. Wong stood nearby in the library, reading instructions from a book. Its old leather cover bent under his hands, the binding twisting. The library was empty besides the two masters, and the New York sanctum was silent. It was nearly an hour before the spell was complete, and from the darkened corners of the bookshelves came particles of light, floating towards the center of the room. They grew upward, and formed a body.

"Ancient One," Strange murmered reverently, and his late mentor smiled.

"Dr. Strange. And Wong, What a pleasant surprise."

She wasn't surprised. Standing there in her golden robe, the sign of Dormomu still etched in her skin, eyes aglow.

"We were hoping you could shed some light on a mystery," Strange said, cutting right to the chase. When the Ancient One nodded, Wong brought forth the book with the missing entry, holding it in front of her face.

"It seems history has been erased," she smiled.

"So you know what happened?" Strange shifted on his feet.

"I do. But I cannot tell you. If I do, the world may be at risk."

"What do you mean?"

"We aren't the only wielders of magic," the Ancient One said, gesturing to the sanctum as a whole. "And often, when one threat to the universe is extinguished, another will rise to take its place."

Strange shivered to think of the threat she alluded to, to another battle like the one against Thanos.

"So what you're saying is, there's another wizard, one who threatens this world? They erased their name from the archives to stay hidden."

She smiled placidly, and ran her luminescent fingers over the blank space where a familiar name once was.

"No. She is no threat, and no wizard, either. In fact, she is keeping your dimension from being torn apart."

"Then why hide?"

"Because, if her identity is known, it will only be a matter of time before the forces of evil find her and the world descends into chaos."

Wong shut the book and set it back in its place while Strange stood, the gears in his head turning.

"And why can't we protect her?"

"You could, but she has decided that she will not take the risk."

There was a pause where they studied each other, lost in thought.

"That's it, then? We go back to normal, knowing that our universe is threatened, with no way to protect it?"

The Ancient One laughed lightly, and Strange could see the particles slowly dispersing.

"Do not be so concerned, Strange. There will come a time very soon when you will be called to protect this world."

Those were her last words before the pinpricks of light separated and went dark, leaving Wong and Strange alone.

"What do we do next?" Wong asked, hand still on the book with the empty entry.

"We tell the Avengers what we've heard."

__________

Asgard's throne room was empty, except for a single inhabitant. She emerged from behind the golden pillars, Odin's Ravens dancing at her feet. Laughing lightly, she leaned down to scratch their heads. As if on command, they fluttered up and lighted on her shoulders, which were clothed in a deep, crimson robe. She smiled at each in turn and continued her stroll through the glittering hall, studying every pillar, every floor tile, every carving in its walls. The mural above her interested her most, of wars and genocide and Odin standing above it all, a crown of horns atop his head, and his daughter Hela at his side. Below them was Fenris wolf, cutting through soldiers in a bloody massacre.

"Oh Fenris," the woman murmered from her place on the floor, "if only you were here today. You might see that your efforts were futile, and that Ragnarok has been stopped."

Suddenly, the painting came to life, and the eyes of Fenris caught her in their glare.

"You cannot stop Ragnarok," he growled, and a shriek cut through the still air as the woman fell, fresh, bloody red lines carved into her back. The wolf's laugh was chilling.

Her crimson robe, now stained with blood, fell from her shoulders. Between the cuts and claw marks, just below her shoulder blade, was a familiar symbol.

The mark of Odin.

When Thor told the Avengers of his vision, of you in his throne room, of Ragnarok, of the mark on your back, they stared on. It would have seemed like another Asgardian squabble if not for the message that Strange relayed from the Ancient One.

"So, all we know is that she can use magic, and she's Asgardian?" Sam Wilson stood, apprehensive, arms crossed, studying his team. They all looked tired and worn from years spent giving their lives for the world, and the idea of another threat wasn't welcome.

"There are only four Asgardians in our history who have had the mark of Odin," Thor clarified, shifting on the cardboard box that had bent under his weight after the many meetings they spent in the abandoned room. "My father, my sister, my brother, and I. There are demigod Midgardians that also bear this mark, but they are few."

"So she's a daughter of Odin?" Sam prompted. Wanda watched on silently with the rest, letting her mind wander in hopes of catching a breeze of your thoughts.

"It's quite possible," Thor agreed. "But demigods rarely leave Earth. And she had an Asgardian dagger."

The Avengers stayed silent, musing.

"Wanda?" Clint's worried voice broke their focus and brought their attention to their teammate, whose eyes had gone red.

"We may not have to wait long to meet her," she said cryptically, voice low and strained.

"What do you mean?" Her surrogate father rubbed his thumb across her forearm and could feel her whole body stiffen in concentration.

"She's in danger," she said. "She's running away... She's running to us."

The team glanced at each other hurriedly. They started when Wanda leapt to her feet, fire dancing in her eyes and power at her fingertips. She left them behind in the abandoned room, taking off through the door. The Avengers were quick to follow.

Through the winding whitewashed halls and past hundreds of rooms they ran, following her. Agents shrunk to the walls on high alert, and Sam shouted orders to stay where they were.

When at last they broke into the sunlight, standing on the grass with a breeze at their sides, Wanda stopped, her eyes fixed ahead.

Emerging from the trees, covered in blood and limping in pain, was you.

The constant humming that had pervaded the Avengers' minds for weeks was suddenly gone, replaced with an eerie silence.

Your lullaby had gone quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I'd love to hear what you think!  
> Stay safe!  
> Jeg elsker deg ♥️


	7. The Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets the answers they've been looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I've had a really rough week, so I'm sorry if this isn't quality. It took a lot just to write it, so I have no idea how you're gonna feel about it.

_You stood, arm raised, every fibre of your body straining against the power that coursed through your veins. The power of the Infinity Stones. You could feel the dried tears on your face, the dust clinging to your lungs, the sweat and ache that coated you. You could see the scorched battlefield stretching out before you, and the tens of thousands of lives waiting. You could see the giant man in front of you, defeat written in his face like wrinkles. You could smell something burning. The world, the world was burning. You could hear your ears ringing, and in your soul were the screams of billions that had died for this millennia-long war._

_Before you snapped, you stated your two requests to the stones. The first, you spoke out loud, your voice breaking like a wave, carrying the cries of your teammates._

_"Let the armies of Thanos fall."_

_Your second request was said silently, a plea that you knew would take everything you loved away from you._

_"And let every memory of me, every record be destroyed, only myself and my possessions remaining."_

_But the universe doesn't forget so easily._

_When you snapped, the world turned every brilliant color imaginable, and you ceased to feel anything in your left arm. It was finished._

___________

You could hear the dripping of blood onto the floor, your blood, staining it's whiteness red and pooling at the feet of Dr. Banner, who was desperately trying to stop the bleeding. He worked quickly, moving around you in a flurry of white lab coat and green skin. His massive hulk hands could hardly thread the needle to stitch you up, so Peter stepped forward to help. He looked nauseated, but determined. The remaining Avengers sat back, watching you from various positions in the lab. They appeared resigned, but very invested, and you wished you had more energy to acknowledge their presence. But the eyes of your family couldn't stop the feeling of despair that crept up on you and settled into your bones. You had failed, miserably, and now the world was at risk.

"I was selfish," you said suddenly, and Peter's hands stilled. You let out a shaky sigh, meeting each pair of eyes on turn. "When did you begin having dreams about me?"

They started a little, shocked that you knew about their dreams. When FRIDAY gave a date, you nodded, unsurprised.

"I thought I could save something for myself, something to remember this life by."

Your eyes traced the figures in front of you, the figures of your family, who didn't even know your name.

"I guess I should start from the beginning, shouldn't I?"

Heads nodded, and Bruce fumbled with the gauze, dabbing at the massive claw marks in your back.

"I'm a sorceress. And demigod. Both, I guess." 

You couldn't stop your voice from shaking.

"My father was Odin," Thor's face lit up, and you smiled. "Yes, I'm your sister. Younger, obviously.

"I knew I was a demigod from the day I was born, though the fact didn't come with any real benefits. I was a little harder to push around, but that was about it. It wasn't until much later that I met a wizard who thought I had some skill, and learned magic."

Strange leaned forward in his seat, and he and Wong shared a look.

"It was through Kamar-Taj that I met the Ancient One, and through her that I learned of an initiative to bring together... talented... individuals to protect the world. That's when I joined your team.

"I was an Avenger for years. But before that, I had already been involved in a group of fallen warriors who were trying to stop Raganrok. It was foolish, of course, and I knew that, but they seemed so hopeful and confident in their ability to prevent the inevitable. So, I fought with them, and as a magic user, was able to trap the World Serpent and the sons of Fenris to slow Raganrok. I learned quickly, however, that legendary monsters aren't the only things set in place to kickstart doomsday.

"I was attacked many times, and after being injured once by a sect of Hellheim priests disguised as a terrorist group--" the team recalled the dream of you, bloodied and bruised, at the knees of masked men "--that I wouldn't last long."

You took a deep breath, and tried to gauge the room. Clint was perched on an exam table with an unamused expression, you could see the gears in Thor's head turning, Strange was stroking his (almost non-existent) beard, and Sam seemed apprehensive. Wanda was watching with half-lidded eyes, and you could tell she was remembering. Rhodey looked tired, and Bucky seemed uninterested.

"Tony didn't die with the snap," you said, and the energy in the room shifted immediately.

"What?" Rhodey looked ready to fight. You took another deep breath, and looked Bruce Banner in the eyes. He slowed his work to look at you, and even Peter had stopped stitching. Tears were already falling from his face, and you prayed to the gods that he'd be able to handle this new reality.

"Bruce, when you snapped, you started screaming. It was painful, and we could tell. You had started to get..." You swallowed thickly. "You started to look gray, like the life was being sucked from you. Tony was closest--" you choked "--and he grabbed a hold of the gauntlet before the stones could finish the job. They killed him instantly."

The room was silent, and Peter hit the ground. You barely contained your tears, the memories overwhelming you.

"I thought," you barely managed through sobs, "I thought that if I could make it seem like Tony had snapped, it would have made it easier." You couldn't hold it in anymore, nearly screaming with the weight of the world that had rested on your shoulders. "He died trying to save you," you turned to Bruce, and saw the pain in his eyes.

It took a few minutes of tears and shaky breathing for everyone to compose themselves before Strange spoke.

"Except that's not what happened."

"It is," you nodded sadly, and continued with your story.

"When it came time, I snapped. I used a spell to distribute a little of the power to each of us, but mostly to me, to try and save myself and you all. I snapped away Thanos' army, but also any memory or record of me."

Things started to click into place.

"But I was selfish," you repeated, "and asked the stones to keep my belongings. I wanted to be able to remember my family."

Bruce had begun to dab furiously again as your blood splashed onto the floor, but you were numb to it all.

"The night you started remembering me was the night I returned for my things. I packed them all up, except for a few boxes, and managed to leave. I meant to collect all of it, except I felt Wanda's mind reaching out for mine, and realized that I had been caught. So I left a few things behind in a hurry and hoped that you'd never find me."

"So, when you arrived at the compound," Rhodey began, stepping forward to look you cautiously in the eyes, "it triggered our memories?"

"Even the powers of the universe can't destroy everything. Like Thanos said," you grinned humorlessly, "as long as there are beings to remember what was, there can never be a new future."

You watched as your family processed slowly, taking it all in.

"You asked the stones to let the universe forget you because, if it did, you could hide from whatever was looking for you?" Bucky prompted, and a small smile graced your lips. Bucky had always understood.

"Yes. The only way my spells over the monsters of Ragnarok can be broken are either through my own will, or over my dead body. Should any evil forces find me and kill me, Ragnarok will begin."

"Why couldn't you tell us, and wipe the memory of the monsters?" Sam was obviously put off, and you didn't know how to respond.

"Knowledge is free, Captain. If one person knows, soon everyone else will."

They were trying to understand your cryptic answer, and everything else that you had said. It was certainly a lot to take in.

You wanted to help them understand, maybe offer a hug, but they didn't know you. Not anymore. The affection and care that you used to show them had died with your memory.

"What made you come find us, then?" Wanda asked, and you had a feeling she already knew.

"Because _they_ found _me."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter, and that it made sense!! Let me know!


	8. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finish things off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna be longer because IT'S THE LAST ONE

The mountains were cold and barren so high up, and if there hadn't been the howling wind to keep you company, you'd be alone. The snow rushed past in flurries and the dark rocks of Glittertind were barely visible in the storm. Still, you trudged on, refusing to let the elements overtake you. You had come too far to stop here.

Though each step was heavy, and the wind pushed you backwards, and you could barely breath without inhaling thousands of snowflakes, you finally made it to a small cave, just big enough to crouch in. It turned sharply to the left, allowing for a shelter from the storm. As soon as you settled onto the hard ground, you yanked open your knapsack with numb, trembling fingers, and pulled out some sticks. You had expected to be stuck here overnight. In fact, you had planned on it. So firewood was a must.

It wasn't a difficult spell that sparked the flame that had now grown into a small fire, lighting up the walls of the little cave with a yellow brilliance, though your lack of a left hand made it more complex. The remaining hand that so painfully shaped spells had just, moments ago, been clutched in Wanda's.

" _Who is after you? We can stop them," she insisted, squeezing your fingers tight and looking with insistent eyes. Still, there was something in those eyes that made you realize she already knew what your answer was. You'd never been able to hide anything from her -- even the Snap couldn't erase that._

_"The sons of Fenris Wolf."_

_Thor shifted uncomfortably, and the rest of the Avengers looked on in curiosity. Peter, who had finished stitching your wound some time ago, was still fixated on the floor. You couldn't blame him. You knew all too well how close he and Tony were, so telling him how his mentor had died was one of the hardest things you'd ever done._

_"The sons of Fenris are trying to free their brothers. Once the two firstborns of Fenris are released, they will force the world into chaos, and all will be lost."_

_"Those are claw marks on your back," Bruce realized, and you nodded with a sick smile._

_"Like I said before; they found me."_

You ran as soon as the sun had set below the horizon. You had watched it's dying rays dance between the leaves of the trees that lined the compound, and it reminded you of the many sunsets you had seen at the old compound, surrounded by your family. But now, they weren't your family, just people who had once known you a long, long time ago.

You knew that the wolves would be after you. You knew they'd find you, too. And you knew the battle wouldn't end without bloodshed. So, you ran, heels nearly hitting your back, hair flying in the wind, hands poised, ready to create a portal to escape into. The unfortunate reality was, now that they knew you were alive, there was no hiding. Even if you killed every monster that came after you, more would take their place. All hope was lost, and you weren't about to drag the Avengers into it. They had been through too much. And maybe, just maybe, you could find a way to make your spells last, or if that failed, they could fight off the beasts of Ragnarok long enough for another magician to trap them. It was all uncertain, and you hated uncertainty. But at least here in this cave, there was some sense of freedom, far away from the people you loved. With distance came safety. And that was all that mattered.

The moment the fire flickered, you knew they had found you again. You stood on aching legs, picking up a flaming branch like a weapon. You exited the cave with a feline stealth, arm raised, knees bent, breathing even, waiting for the first attack.

When a bright blue wolf came hurtling towards you, you barely had enough time to drop your stick, duck, and drag a finger across his stomach. The trail your hand had made formed a brilliantly bright orange line, and it began smoking. The dog howled in pain. 

One of his siblings leapt over his writhing body, russet fur a blur in your line of sight. You pulled a glowing rod from midair and shoved it between his jaws, feet paving tracks in the snow as the force of his body pushed you back. With the light tap of a finger, the rod extended on both sides into spear-like ends that pierced the wolf's skull, and he fell alongside his sibling.

After the first two fell, it seemed like you were drowning in wolves. They all attacked, methodical but ruthless. Your numb limbs struggled to keep up, and though the torch that you had struck into the snow was still glowing with your magic, at times it seemed like all the dark fur blurred your vision, and you could see nothing else. You were losing quicky, and as the bites and scratches on your body multiplied, you could feel your resolve begin to collapse.

You hardly noticed it when sparks flew from the wind, twisting and turning until they formed a full oval. Inside the oval was a glimpse into another world, from which people stepped out. From which warriors stepped out. Or, rather, Avengers.

Wanda sent a son of Fenris flying, and you could hear the bullets from Rhodey and Sam leave the muzzles of their guns with a _crack_. A silver arm flashed in the darkness, and the classic stars and stripes of your favorite shield rushed past your vision for a moment, colliding with another wolf that had been inches from your head.

Out of the cold darkness came brilliant lightning, illuminating the battle scene eerily. Dozens of wolves were suddenly lit-up, teeth glinting and eyes ablaze. Thor swung Stormbreaker with such ferocity in your defense that you wondered if he remembered all the nights you had spent sharing stories as brother and sister. Bruce Banner really tried to punch, but you had to help. With the added force of your magic behind his massive hands, no monster stood a chance. Even Peter was there, kill mode narrowing his eyes.

Strange was at your side in seconds, pulling you from the snow and through a new portal. You hardly had time to cry out in protest before you were back at the compound. Before you could fight your way back, he had dumped you on the couch of the common room, and left in a flurry of orange sparks.

You sat there in shock for awhile, taking in the room around you. It was just as you had left it, minus the Avengers. When you looked down, you realized your sling ring was gone, and makeshift magic bindings were closing your wounds. You wanted to be angry with Strange, but you knew you wouldn't have lasted much longer out there.

It only took minutes for the familiar portal to reappear, and for your family to rush through, wolf blood on their hands. They looked a little crazed, eyes wide and bodies trembling with the adrenaline that fueled them. As soon as they were all through, and the portal had closed, they were surging forward. You vaguely heard them yelling over the ringing in your ears, and you knew Strange was examining your wounds, and you knew Wanda was once again gripping your hand like she never planned to let go, but it was all so fuzzy.

For the second time in 24 hours, the team watched you pass out cold.

___________

"Now you don't have to do this alone," Wanda whispered in your ear, loud enough for Sköll to hear. The wolf once again towered over you, but he was less intimidating with your family and dozens of wizards at your side. They each now held a key to the wolf's chains, something he had been suspiciously quiet about. You were used to the son of Fenris weaving clever riddles and coming up with every witty remark imagineable, but this time, he watched on passively. You weren't sure if that scared you more than his usual confidence.

"Fat chance of them killing all of us," Strange smirked, shaking hands lowering as his spell came to an end. Yet another magical chain was wrapped around the wolf's body. Each rope was unlike the others, formed from the magic that the wizards had produced and, in the case of your teammates, had been hastily learned. The son's of Fenris would have to go through each and every one of you to start Ragnarok now. After Glittertind, you realized just how dire your situation was, and though you wouldn't admit it, you now knew that you couldn't do it without your family. So, they were here, adding their own power to the chains that bound doomsday.

The breezes buffeted your hair, and gulls cawed, and the sounds of the ocean roared in your ears. It was strangely peaceful out here, with the world so far away and the people you loved so close. So, it was with peace that you left the island through a portal, and set foot in the compound you now called home. The familiar carpet was comforting, as well as the smells of dinner cooking in a Crock-Pot.

The Avengers settled back into the common room in their various spots, lost in thought. You curled up into your old corner on the couch, and were surprised when Wanda settled down in front of you with a soft sigh.

You could see her slowly relaxing, letting the stress of the day wash over her, and you decided to test the waters. You ran your hand along the strands of her hair lightly, and hummed happily when she leaned into your touch.

She remembered.

You continued to drag your fingers through her locks, the tune to a song forming at the back of your throat. When you opened your mouth, the whole team grew still, watching you in rapt interest.

Ride ride ranke

Si meg hvor skal veien gå

Bestefar besøk skal få

Ride ride ranke

Your voice, which they had heard in their dreams for so many nights now was soothing. The old lullaby rolled from the tip of your tongue and lighted on their ears so softly, and it healed the cracks that had begun to form in their hearts.

The family that you had once sat with in this room was a very different one from what you now knew. But though the pain of losing people pervaded the Avengers' souls, there was something in your lullaby that reminded them of how easy it was to see their loved ones again. If they closed their eyes, and leaned into your song, they'd see familiar faces. They'd feel like they were home.

After all, nothing's really gone, only out of place. And, like with you, as long as they hadn't forgotten, their loved ones lived inside of them.

Si Meg hvor skal veien gå?

Where does the road go?

Forward. Always forward.

As long as there are people who remember what was, the past will always live on. Something you had learned the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you so much for reading. I know this wasn't the best, and I'm not super proud of the gaping plot holes and mistakes, but I'm glad I finished it.  
> This was never meant to be very long, still, I hope you liked it!! Please let me know what you thought!!  
> Jeg elsker deg ♥️

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! If you liked it, please leave kudos and a comment!


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